Oligino added, “Define, test and adopt policies to prevent risk. Your plans need to evolve. You need to look at them over the course of time.” She gave examples of Hurricane Sandy to losing a key associate.
There are many types of natural disasters that can be very disruptive to a business. That is why TD Ameritrade recommends having a well-documented plan, including having a backup location that is on an entirely different power grid.
Oligino has seen advisory practices be out of power for a long time and unfortunately some teams were not prepared. For example, their people were not trained on how to access the backup systems.
Risks even come from non-employees like vendors. Oligino, stated, “You need to ask them, ‘What is your incident response plan?’”
Advisors should have everything from an employee call tree to a client communication plan in place. “They need to be confident, knowledgeable and ready to execute the plan,” said Oligino.
Think About Future Jobs
Andrew Patterson, senior economist in the Vanguard Investment Strategy Group, spoke about the trends that will define our lifetime. The U.S. and global economies will undergo a dramatic transformation as several technological advances disrupt and impact the work force.
“We are not looking at how jobs are going to be lost. Instead focus on how jobs will change,” said Patterson.
He discussed how job tasks have evolved and will continue to evolve. He mentioned continuing education and focusing on skills like these to keep up with the pace of change: maintaining relationships, interacting with the public, persuading outcomes, applying knowledge, thinking creatively and strategizing.